It may be set in New York City, but The Motherf—er with the Hat won’t be out of place at the Firehall Arts Centre.

“The characters in the play have been marginalized by their addiction,” said Brian Markinson, the play’s director and an actor best known for roles in the TV series Mad Men and Da Vinci’s Inquest.

“They’re struggling with their recovery. So it’s amazing that we’re here at the Firehall, which is in one of the ground zeros in all of North America for alcohol and substance abuse, and people with mental issues.”

Written by Pulitizer Prize winner Stephen Adly Guirgis, The Motherf**cker with a Hat juggles themes of drug addiction, rage and infidelity in a high-octane, profanity-laden package. The play premiered in 2011 and marked comedian Chris Rock’s Broadway debut (as drug and parole counsellor Ralph D.).

The Motherf**ker with the Hat marks the inaugural production of Haberdashery Theatre Co., a company founded by Markinson, John Cassini, Stephen Lobo, Jenn MacLean Angus, Lori Triolo and Kyra Zagorsky. The company’s mandate is to produce edgier, issue-driven plays.

“There’s a lot of humour in (the play), but it’s all rooted in a fact, that these characters are in a great deal of pain and they’re struggling,” Markinson said.

“They don’t lie down. What I love about it is their struggle with life, to be better.”

Markinson is best known for his roles as Dr. Arnold Rosen in AMC’s hit Mad Men and as Police Chief Bill Jacobs on Da Vinci’s Inquest. Much of his directorial experience dates back to the mid-’80s, when the Brooklyn native had a theatre company in New York.

“I’ve taught in the interim, and coached. It (directing) is something I’ve always loved doing,” said the actor, who moved to Vancouver in 2000 with his wife to raise their sons.

Stephen Lobo, who plays the main role of Jackie — a former drug dealer just out of prison and trying to rebuild his life — approached Markinson with the script. The two had worked together previously on a couple of TV series.

“This is a passion project,” Markinson said. “He secured the rights, he started putting the actors together. It was something that was very easy for me to say ‘yes’ to.”

Former New Yorkers Lori Triolo and Kyra Zagorsky play Victoria and Veronica, the respective girlfriends of Ralph D. (John Cassini) and Jackie.

“The three of us have a sense of the musicality of these people,” Markinson said. “Also Lori was a colleague of the playwright. She and Guirgis started a theatre company before he went on to do work … with (actor) Philip Seymour Hoffman.”

Markinson has put his successful acting career on hold to direct The Motherf—er.

“As much as I enjoy working in television or film, I needed to do this,” he said.

“For everyone in this group, theatre is our first love. I would imagine it’s the same for any actor who’s had the opportunity to work on a piece of text for three weeks or a month and then get in front of an audience. The process is so much more collaborative than film and television. If the pay was commensurate with what we make in TV and film, I don’t know if anybody would go back and do TV and film. It’s such a rewarding process and so actor driven.”

Markinson says he’d like to try to do a play at least once a year “just for my soul.”

Ultimately, he’d like to see the company “in a brick-and-mortar space producing seasons of theatre.”

Haberdashery is also committed to giving back to the community.

“Because this deals with recovery and substance abuse, we’re looking for a program on the east side that we can make a donation to. And that will be one of the things we will continue to do.”

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